I installed my B&M STS yesterday. WOW!!! I can't believe I'm driving the same car! Everything worked beautifully. I must thank MrEous for the heads-up on that shifter. I've got all the suspension stuff and y-pipe, and I think by far the shifter is the one mod that actually put a huge smile on my face. I'm still using my stock shift ****, and it feels GREAT! I can finally shift to 2nd without feeling like I'm starting a lawn mower. I highly recommend the B&M shifter for anyone who hasn't put one on yet.

 

I've driven a friend's Max with a STS. Definately makes driving more fun.

 

short shifters really make a difference. I love my stillen.

 

agreed......

 

yea they do make the car more fun to drive, i have one from ebay and it works fine, i could care less for an adjustable or what ever, the only thing that bothers me is the lenght but im gonna cut it down and just super glue the shift **** on it. its bootlegg style but it works.

 

Maximum810, what instruction did you use to install? I am getting one from someone, but not new. There are some instructions I printed off of the org. Also, did you have to put a dent in the heat shield with a rubber mallet like they say you have to. I would rather not have to do this, but don't know. I also am getting B&N STS.
Thanks...

 

I used the instructions that came with the shifter. I think somewhere I saw it online...and it was the same one that came with my shifter. I didn't use a mallet for anything. I unbolted the cat from the y-pipe and a bracket that goes above and between them, and slid the heat shield over the y-pipe to give full access. The B&M is definitely worth it. It's more work to move other parts to get access, but it makes it a far less nightmare than having to bend and do all sorts of stuff from where all you have to do is turn a bunch of bolts.

 

You're much welcome Kimson...I'm glad you like it. Now get your tune-up!!!haha

As far as the install...There isn't anything you need to do extra to the car. It's all bolt-on. No extra drilling or mallet-useage. lol

B&M did a lot of good work on it.

 

Click on the following link...it is a .pdf file to help you with the install. This is the same sheet that is sent with the B&M.

http://bmracing.com/products/shft_ma...9500704-05.pdf

 

Yeah, what he said.

 

I'll do the whole tune-up after the cold-air and test pipe go in

 

Im planning on getting one soon, the B&M moves all the gears and neutral farther up right? That would be good for me since my seat is all the way up and im only 5'3'' Does it feel more notchy than stock? Is it possible to cut the B&M down shorter also?

 

Wait till you see how low the shifter is before you plan on cutting it...

Check out the following page for some comparison pics.
http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/436864/2

I photoshopped the 2 pics together so you can really see the difference in throw and height.

 

The gears have been moved up forward a bit. It's no big deal at all. The height drop is about an inch and a half, and i'm still using my stock shifter. It is a bit notchy, but it's great feeling. I'm 5'5"...so you're not the only shorty. You won't want to cut that shifter...it feels way to nice as is.

 

b&m has some quality stuff. i loved my sts in my 240sx, just havent gotten around to getting one for the maxima.

 

where can i find the b and m?

 

dido where can i get one.

 

has any cut down the stock shifter and put on a new **** and compared it to the b&m?

 

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/southwes...enimabmsh.html

Check that out.

 

anyone doing a GD on these?

 

i heard so many people (even the ones that like their sts) say that STS actually screws up your tranny parts.

 

HOW would a sts screw up ur trans parts?

 

as far as i remember it was about putting more pressure on that thing that starts with s. something like lower u go = more pressure = bad

 

That would be the syncros. I've heard this too.

 

yeah, that's it. i read several threads about this metter.

 

try www.ultrarev.com

 

Just to answer some questions...

There was a group deal going on with these but not currently. The price was for $135 shipped. If you take a look at the SouthwestAutoworks.com website you will see that the B&M is sold for $135 off there.

As far as synchros are concerned...the only reason they would go out is because of slamming the gears and most likely mis-shifting (forcing the shifter into gear while the clutch isn't all the way pressed down). You really aren't putting much more pressure than stock with an sts.

 

love my b&M. feels so much sportier now. I think the perception of sport/handling/performance is as important as the performance numbers themselves.

I don't even have a y-pipe yet and I love my max's personality with my kyb-agx/eibach/fstb/b$M.

 

how long does the install take?

 

Install takes about an hour...depends on how good you are at working on your car. If you've done sts install before then it can be even quicker.

 

It took me a little over an hour to install since I decided to do it on the driveway to save time, and over halfway through, it started to rain.

 

I love my B&M too. At first I didn't like how far it was, but I got used to it. It feels so much better than the stock one

 

I concur. In fact, I'd argue that you're putting less pressure than stock. You have less leverage.

But there's more to consider:

If someone were to get a short throw shifter and shift slowly, then I would agree that the syncro wear would not be an issue; however, this defeats the purpose of the shorter shift lever. People get these and shift fast.

Let's say you disengage the clutch to up-shift. Shifting too fast will get your clutch out before the engine drops to the prefered speed for the next gear. This is bad for the syncros. Having a STS increases the odds of this happening considerably, as you will be shifting very quickly.

I've always heard that you should only engage the clutch when your engine is moving slower/equal than what the next gear requires. This, of course doesn't apply to first gear (no syncro).




Or...I don't know what I'm talking about

[edit]Also, the faster you put it into gear, the less time the syncros have to spin up. Couple this with the engine running too fast, and you're putting your syncros through hell...drive smart, and your syncros should be fine.[/edit]

 

a worthwhile mod IMO

 

It does not hurt to put the clutch in at any speed. It disengages the gas just like it does when you need it. Technically, you could put the clutch in and hold it there until you stop all the way from 100.

You might want to learn to "heel toe" shift or "rev match" when you get a STS. I already do this, but I will definitely do it when I get STS. It just lets you match the revs of the engins manually, and then you don't hvae to wait on the engine to slow down to put it into gear. It also gets the syncros in line where they need to be.

 

Just in case there is some confusion:

engage the clutch = put the disk against the flywheel = clutch pedal up
disengage the clutch = pull the disk from the flywheel = clutch pedal down

Brudaddy: It does in fact hurt to disengage the clutch and leave it there...when you put the clutch pedal down, you are pushing the throwout bearing into the fingers of the pressure plate. That bearing will spin untill you release the pedal. This practice will cause premature wear of the throwout bearing.

'heel/toe' shifting (AFAIK) is using the heel and toe to control the break/gas pedals simultaneously. This is mostly used for cornering, no? If your slowing down in general, the best strategy is to get it in neutral, and use the brakes (IMO).

Back to the STS stuff:

I misstated in my previous post...I said that engaging the clutch when the engine is turning too fast is bad for the syncros...this is not true. (That's what I get for posting after a 14 hour shift) Engaging the clutch when the engine is turning faster than it should is bad on the clutch though.

As far as syncros are concerned, if you disengage the clutch at 5k, and make the upshift at 4k instead of 3k (or whatever the speed of the next gear is), when you put the lever in the next gear your syncros will spin up faster than they need to. This is bad.

All things considered, faster shifts are harder on the syncros. Slow, rev-matched shifts give the least amount of wear on the syncros.

How I shift:
1) Clutch down
2) Let the engine slow to approximately where it should be for next gear
3) Shift to next gear
4) Clutch up

I can do this with the stock shifter...to get any benefit from an STS, I'd have to abuse my syncros/engine/clutch.

When I eventually put my STS in, I will still shift the way I do now...but when I'm racing, those rules go out the window...

Brudaddy: Also, I think you meant 'disengages the clutch' instead of 'disengages the gas'

 

Nice post Sryth...I granny shift most of the time so my synchros aren't getting any more abused than they were with my stock shifter. And like you, when I'm racing that law goes out the window too.

 

True that...my bad. What he said...ha ha.

 

im lost......